Patent Application
20080115822
The present invention relates to photovoltaic module and connectors for attaching cables to its output terminals and in one of its aspects relates to highly reliable connectors for connecting output cables to the electrical terminals of a photovoltaic module and a method for installing the connectors.
In recent years, considerable advances have been made in photovoltaic (PV) cells or the like for directly converting solar energy into useful electrical energy. Typically, a plurality of these photovoltaic cells are encased between a transparent sheet (e.g. glass, plastic, etc.) and a sheet of backing material, to thereby form a flat, typically rectangular-shaped solar module (sometimes called “laminate”) of a manageable size (e.g. 1 meter by 2 meters). The PV cells may be made from wafers of silicon or other suitable semiconductor material, or they can be a thin film type of cell typically deposited on the substrate or backing sheet by various processes well known in the solar module art. This is the type of solar module that can be installed onto the roof of an existing structure (e.g. a house, building, or the like) to provide all or at least a portion of the electrical energy used by that structure.
Each solar module may contain any number of individual PV cells (e.g. from 1 to about 50 or more), each of which has a positive and a negative output which, in turn, are electrically connected in series to respective terminals on a common positive and negative bus bar, as will be understood in the art. These positive and negative terminals typically may pass directly through the backing material or as preferred, may be connected through a PC board within the solar module (e.g. a PC board having components which allow the module to continue to function when one or more individual PV cells become inoperable for any reason).
Once the positive and negative terminals are provided through the backing material, they are typically connected to respective positive and negative output power cables which, in turn, convey the electric current from the module to its designated source. Typically, in known module construction, one end of each of the cables is soldered to its respective terminal on the outside of the module. Unfortunately, however, these directly soldered connections have proved unreliable in some applications and have failed during the operational life of the module due to initial poor contact between the cable and its terminal during soldering or due to wear-and-tear during operation. When poor contact between the cable and the terminal occurs, it can lead to early field failures and module damage due to overheating or the like.
Since solar energy is relatively new in a highly competitive industry, it is vital that the solar modules, themselves, be as problem-free as possible in order to make them commercially-attractive when competing with the more conventional energy sources. Accordingly, providing essentially problem-free connections between the output terminals of the module and their respective power cables which are highly reliable over the projected life of the module is an important consideration in the marketing of solar modules. The present invention provides such connections for solar modules.
The present invention provides a photovoltaic module and a reliable and durable connection for electrically connecting the terminals within the module to power cables which, in turn, conduct the current from the module to the designated utility source.
More specifically, the module is comprised of a backing sheet and a cover transparent sheet (e.g. glass). One or more bus bars are positioned between said backing sheet and said cover sheet and has a plurality of photovoltaic (PV) cells, which are electrically connected, electrically connected to a positive terminal and a negative terminal, respectively, on the one or more bus bars. In accordance with the present invention, a first positive connection element is electrically connected to the positive terminal and a first negative connection element is electrically connected to said negative terminal.
Preferably, these connector elements are identical male connectors which have one end tapered to mate with a female connector on a respective power cable. The other end has one or more legs thereon which mate with one or more openings through the bus bar at the respective positive and negative terminals. Once the legs on the male connectors are in their respective openings in the bus bar, they are soldered to assure a reliable connection therebetween. Each connector element is suitably scored with a groove to allow ease of subsequent bending. Once the connector elements are soldered, it is preferable to cover them with a protective covering, e.g. tape, to prevent contamination during lamination of the module. The components are then laminated to form the photovoltaic module.
Once the module is laminated, openings are formed through the backing sheet at points adjacent to the, preferably male, connector elements. The backing material is cleared from these openings and the protective layer is removed from the tapered ends of the connector elements. Next, the tapered ends are bent outward so that they extend through their respective openings in the backing material and are readily exposed for connection with the preferably female connector elements which are electrically connected to the respective power cables. Once the male and female connector elements are mated, the connections are soldered to thereby provide highly reliable and durable connection between the terminals within the module and the output power cable which are necessary to utilize the power generated by the module.
The actual construction operation, and apparent advantages of the present invention will be better understood by referring to the drawings, not necessarily to scale, in which like numerals identify like parts and in which:
While the invention will be described in connection with its preferred embodiments, it will be understood that this invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.
Referring now to drawings,
Sunlight enters through substrate sheet 12 and impinges on the front side of the PV cells 13. Each ribbon 14, which connects adjacent cells 13 in series, is connected to a contact on the back side (not shown) of one cell and to a solder contact point 16 on the front side of an adjacent PV cell 13 to couple the cells in series. Ribbons 14a connect the end cell of each row to a thin, electrically-conductive board (i.e. bus bar 17). The terms “board” and “bus bar” will be used interchangeably herein.
While board 17 may be constructed of any electrically conductive material, e.g. copper, aluminum, tin, silver, gold, etc., it is preferably formed of a laminate made by adhering a layer of conductive material to a dielectric substrate material such as a resin or polymeric material. This is the same type of material as that used to manufacture printed circuits, or so-called PC boards. Board 17 is placed between the back substrate 11 and a superstrate or cover sheet 12 and is about the same width and thickness as that of the PV cells so that when the module is laminated, it will have a substantially flat and uniform appearance.
As shown, board or bus bar 17 is comprised of four sections 17a, 17b, 17c, and 17d which form individual and separate, electrically-conducting regions on the board. While four sections are shown, it should be understood that a board 17 for a particular module may be comprised of more or less conducting regions depending, for example, on the number of rows of PV cells, number of positive and negative sites needed to provide connection points for ribbons 14a, etc. without departing from the present invention. The individual sections of board 17 are electrically connected together by respective diodes 18, preferably Schottky-type diodes. The diodes are normally in a reverse biased state when the forward-biased PV cells are all functioning to generate electrical current from solar radiation.
However, when a particular PV cell(s) malfunctions for any reason (e.g. shaded from the sun) causing it to become reverse biased, the diode in that cell's circuit also switches and becomes forward biased to prevent damage to the malfunctioning cell(s). Once the malfunction is corrected, the affected cell(s) will again become forward biased thereby causing the affected diode to become reverse biased whereupon normal operation will resume. For a more complete and detailed description of both the construction and operation of this type of board, see International Publication No. WO 2005/101511, which is incorporated herein in its entirety, by reference. Further, while only one bus bar 17 is illustrated, it should be recognized that more than one bus bar can be used if the situation dictates.
The conducting sections and diodes of board 17 act as a bus bar to conduct the electric current generated by all of the functioning cells 13 to points A and B on sections 17a and 17b, respectively. Points A and B are effectively the positive and negative terminal points for the electrical output from module 10. In order to conduct the electrical current from the module to its designated utility source (not shown), these terminal points are electrically connected to typical power cables outside the module. The present invention provides highly reliable connectors for achieving this end.
To assemble the connectors of the present invention, one or more openings 20 are formed through bus bar 17 at both points A and B. While four openings 20 are shown at each point A and B (only some numbered for clarity), it should be understood that more or less can be used as long as the number of openings correspond to the number of “legs” 21 on male connector elements 22 (see
While the male connector elements may be structurally interchangeable, it is preferred that they be marked either “+” or “−” (see
The wall of each opening 20 is plated suitably throughout to insure good electric conductivity between the bus bar 17 and the legs of male connector element 22 when the connectors are assembled. To prevent electrical shorting between the individual components of bus bar 17, as will be understood in the art, both the cover and the underside of bus bar 17 are “masked” at points A and B and surrounding areas (see x-shaded area on
To assemble the connectors, the legs 21 of male connector elements 22 are positioned into their respective openings 20 from the underside of bus bar 17 (
Module 10 is assembled and laminated in accordance with known procedures in the art. For example, cover sheet 12 (e.g. glass) is laid on a flat surface and a layer of EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate)/glass mat is positioned onto the cover sheet 12. Next, the rows of PV cells 13, electrically connected (e.g. in series), and the attached bus bar(s) 17 are positioned onto the EVA/glass mat with the male connectors 22 facing upward towards the backing sheet 11. Another layer of EVA/glass mat is laid thereon and the backing sheet 11 completes the assembly. This sandwich-package is then subjected to heat and pressure to form the laminated module 10, as will be understood in the art. If desired, a logo 30 and/or a Serial No. 31 (
To complete the connections between the terminals A and B of the module and their respective power cables 44, reference will now be had to
With tapered ends 22a extended, a respective female element 43 which has been electrically connected (e.g. crimped and soldered) to the end of power output cable 44 is slipped over the tapered end 22a of its respective male connector element 22 and is soldered thereto to insure a secure connection therebetween (
It is to be understood that only certain embodiments of the invention have been described and set forth herein. Alternative embodiments and various modifications will be apparent from the above description to those of skill in the art. These and other alternatives are considered equivalents and within the spirit and scope of the invention.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/866,720, filed on Nov. 21, 2006, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/866,720, filed on Nov. 21, 2006.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60866720 | Nov 2006 | US |
